Friday, May 6, 2011

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Goat Cheese, Caramelized Green Onions and Thyme


Wednesday night, I made a fancy dinner. I try to do one fancy dinner a week. Unless I'm stopped by my husband, who told me last week that every dinner didn't have to be something spectacular. He just wanted tacos.

When I bought that taco kit, I felt like I had a box of tampons in my grocery cart. I tried to hide it behind a box of oatmeal and prayed I didn't run into anyone I knew.

What's next, Hamburger Helper?

This week, I had to pull out a goat cheese stuffed chicken breast recipe to redeem myself from taco night. I've had it in my artillery (recipe binder ... where I just found some chopped parsley) for several weeks. I love anything stuffed -- pasta, meat, mushrooms, dessert -- sign me up. Then you tell me that it's stuffed with cheese and I salivate. Ty doesn't agree with me on most menu items, hence taco night. But he'd mentioned goat cheese a few days prior, so I knew I had an open window of opportunity.

The chicken turned out beautifully, and was surprisingly easy to prepare. I was nervous to fiddle with the chicken while it cooked for fear of losing all my goat cheese stuffing. So I left the meat alone and let it saute, which is what you're supposed to do anyway but I normally can't help myself. Best part ... it's a one dish meal, so there's little clean up after all your hard work.

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Goat Cheese, Caramelized Green Onions and Thyme

1 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1 1/3 cups thinly sliced green onions (about 1 pound)
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup (3 oz.) crumbled goat cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon fat-free milk
1 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
Skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Cooking spray
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
  • Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper to pan; Cook 12 minutes, stirring frequently. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and cook 5 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally. Cool slightly. Combine onion mixture, 1/4 teaspoon salt, cheese, parsley, milk and thyme in a small bowl, stirring with a fork.
  • Cut a slit through the thickest portion of each chicken breast to form a pocket. Stuff 1 1/2 tablespoons cheese mixture into each pocket. Sprinkle chicken evenly with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt.
  • Return pan to medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; saute 5 minutes; turn chicken over. Cook, reduce heat, and cook 10 minutes or until chicken is done.
  • Remove chicken from pay; let stand 10 minutes. Add wine to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook until reduced by half (about 2 minutes). Add broth, and cook until reduced to 1/4 cup (about 9 minutes). Serve with chicken.

2 comments:

Mandy S said...

sounds too fancy for me!! i think we'll stick to hamburger helper! ;-) ha! who am I kidding?! i hardly go that far...it's Lean cuisines for us! one day...i promise, i'm going to use some of the fabulous recipes you share!

Stephanie Jordan said...

Mandy, you're not kidding anyone. We all know you can probably cook circles around us if you tried!

At least I always have you to let me know if my chicken has gone bad!